Cassie & George in DisneyWorld:A Magical Honeymoon
by snuggle the muggle
Summary: Now that George and Cassie are safely married and flying off to two weeks at DisneyWorld, is everything going to go smoothly? Read and find out!
1. Flying the Muggle Way

Okay, due to popular demand . . . here is the first chapter of the first short story dealing with Cassie and George's life after they get married. The next chapter will be up in the next week or so. Let me know what you think of it!!

Flying the Muggle Way

Cassie started in her chair, realizing that something had changed but not awake enough to realize what it was. Suddenly, though, her eyes flew open wide and she stared at the empty chair next to her. He was gone! A lot of thoughts raced through her mind in the next few seconds, mixed in with several curse words. He had left her! True, he had threatened to do so before take-off, but she thought he wouldn't try it once they were actually airborn! Would he be able to come back? Where had he gone? Even more importantly, where was she supposed to meet him? And what if he splinched himself somehow? After all, apparating from an airplane could not be that easy. She didn't know any wizards in America she could call! And she had no idea if the magical governmental departments of either Great Britain or the United States kept tabs on wizards stupid enough to splinch themselves over the Atlantic Ocean! She was angry, too. She had known he was very nervous about this, but he had promised that he would stay. She had been very worried about going to sleep, but he had assured her that if something happened, he would wake her up. He had winked and encouraged her to get her rest. "After all, Cassie, I want you wide awake for tonight. Maybe all night." He had whispered that so low and seductively into her ear that she had turned bright red and had to fan herself for quite a few minutes. Well, she could only promise him one thing – if he had left her alone on an airplane on their honeymoon, he wouldn't need to worry about her staying awake because he would be sleeping in the hall. But mostly, she was just afraid. Not for herself; but for him. What could have happened to him?

"Excuse me, miss?" She realized the man was speaking to her and she looked up at him. "Are you looking for your young man?"

"My husband, yes. Did you see where he went? Did he leave a message of some sort?" The man across the aisle smiled at her like he wasn't quite sure how serious she was being.

"Uh, well, no. But I think he'll be back in a few minutes. If the line for the restroom isn't too long." Suddenly, another wave of hot color flooded Cassie's face and she realized where George was.

"Oh. Uh, sorry. I guess I over-reacted."

"A little bit. After all, once the airplane gets into the air, it's a little hard to just vanish into thin air. We're all here together until we land."

"Yes. You're right of course. It's just . . . well. He's a little bit anxious. He's never been on a plane before and I don't think he's enjoying it very much."

"I figured that out myself when his fingernails dug deep grooves into his arm rests." Cassie laughed. George had been terrified of the noise of the engines and the scream of the tires as the jet had taxied down the runway. She had held his hand the whole time, but she really was afraid he had broken the bones in her right hand. "You're more relaxed."

"I've flown a few times myself. It doesn't scare me."

"I fly all the time, but I still get a little nervous over the water. Those seat-cushion life preservers don't really look too reliable. He was absolutely right about that." Cassie smiled in embarrassed understanding. George had been quite incredulous when the stewardess had demonstrated the life-saving measures on the plane, insisting that there was no way any of that stuff would keep anyone alive if this "infernal machine" decided to land in the middle of the ocean. He had said this quite loudly and all of the other passengers in the first class cabin had smiled in a combination of amusement and empathy at his obvious nervousness. She had quashed the guilty feelings about how much these airline tickets were costing them by saying that he would be much more comfortable with the very large seats and personalized service of the first class area rather than stuffed like a sardine in the coach area. However, he didn't seem to really appreciate her point of view, as he insisted that the seat where he was expected to spend "nine bloody hours" was still too small for an actual human being to sit. Cassie at one point was tempted to tell him to go back and look at the coach seats if he wanted an idea of small confines, but decided that turning George loose on a planeload of unsuspecting, harried, cramped, tired people was probably grounds for being ejected from the plane with nothing but a parachute. Not that he would purposely do anything, of course, but if he started asking a million questions like he had done to her already, someone was liable to find the nearest emergency exit and toss him out.

"You're obviously an American. What were you doing in England?"

"Business. My company sells modular office furniture. It's very popular on both the continent and in Britain. What about you two? What are you two going to be doing in the States?"

"Our honeymoon." She blushed a little. She hated saying that because she knew exactly what everyone was thinking they would be doing tonight. And the fact they were right didn't make it any less embarrassing.

"Doing the Disney World thing, huh?" Fortunately, the man was diplomatic enough not to make a comment.

"Yes. I think George, my husband, will really love it. He's never been anywhere like that before." He nodded in understanding.

"And when did you get married?"

"This morning." He smiled.

"I see. Well, no wonder you're anxious to keep track of him, then."

"Keep track of who?" said the wizard in question as he sat down next to Cassie and put his seatbelt on. She had told him he didn't need to keep it on all the time, but he had either not believed her or not cared, because he insisted on keeping it fastened.

"You. I woke up and you were gone and I . . . got nervous." George laughed and intertwined their fingers.

"I told you I'd stay and I'll stay. We should be married at least a day before you get so cynical about my trustworthiness."

"I knew how nervous you were, that's all. Mr., uh, . . ."

"Berger."

"Mr. Berger was keeping me company while you were, uh, busy."

"Well, I went back to the loo. I had to use it, of course, but I also thought that maybe you and I could go back there for a private snog . . . but I quickly changed my mind. I've never seen such a tiny room. I could barely fit in there and shut the door. I considered standing outside and just-"

"George! Don't even say it!" Mr. Berger laughed.

"Well, it's true." George glanced at Cassie's watch impatiently. "How much longer are we going to be in this flying deathtrap anyway?"

"Only about another hour. I bet it won't be too much longer before we have to start getting ready to land. That can take a while sometimes." A stewardess came out of the galley at that point, wheeling her cart through the aisle. She was taking orders for the last beverages of the flight and also handing out the Customs Cards to all the passengers as she went.

"Your lovely bride told me that you only got married this morning."

"Yes, that's right. We did. And I foolishly agreed to get on this aeroplane and fly over the bloody ocean."

"Well, if I may say so myself, Florida is very nice. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time."

"Are you married, Mr. Berger?" Cassie leaned over George to ask.

"Yes, it's been, oh . . . nearly 25 years. I can't believe it's been that long. It seems like just a few days ago I was in your shoes, young man. And I can only hope that you will be as happy as my wife and I have been."

"Thank you."

"Now, what do you do? Are you still in school, or have you finished?"

George smiled and Cassie wondered how he was going to answer that question. She glanced at the stewardess, who was just at the row in front of them. She almost hoped George didn't have time to answer. "I actually never did finish. There was an emergency and my brother and I had to leave school rather quickly. However, we have done all right with ourselves since then." Then the stewardess was there and they couldn't see Mr. Berger across the aisle any more.

"May I get you something?" the stewardess asked the two of them.

"I'll have a Coke. Or, uh, actually. Make that a coffee please, with cream and sugar." The stewardess prepared Cassie's drink while George looked at the cart with the same disgruntled face he had had on his face each time the stewardess had come by. He had wanted pumpkin juice and was not impressed at any of the other offerings. He finally took a bottled water and the stewardess worked on the other side of aisle while George whispered in Cassie's ear.

"I'm glad you're having coffee. I want to make sure you are wide awake." Cassie flushed.

"Don't worry. I am. What about you?" George just laughed but before he could respond, the stewardess turned back to them.

"These cards have to be filled out before we land. Make sure you write neatly, please." She handed them the cards and a pen.

"What are these things?" George asked to no one in particular. Mr. Berger answered him although Cassie could have.

"They're cards to help the government keep track of who comes into the country. They'll collect them when we land."

"Oh." George furrowed his brow and looked at the card. Cassie patted him on the hand.

"Don't worry. Just fill it out like we did the passport application." He grinned and started filling it out. They were using her parents' address on the paperwork because theirs (in a wizarding neighborhood) was not recognized in official British government records. Same with the phone number, although Cassie had a mobile that she used frequently. It did have a nasty habit of not working when George was around, though, so it was rather unreliable. The stewardess moved on and George turned back to the Muggle across the aisle.

"We actually own a joke shop." He always liked to tell people this because he liked to see their reactions. They usually either looked scandalized or bored. Mr. Berger, however, just raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"A joke shop, huh? That's different. And you run it yourselves?"

"That's right. We do. And we invent all the products as well."

"Oh, my. That's very interesting. What sorts of things do you sell?"

"Mainly fireworks and candies at the moment. But our product line is growing."

"I'm in London often. I would love to drop by. Do you have a business card?"

"No."

"Yes." Both Cassie and George answered at once, George reaching automatically for his pocket. They looked at each other. Then answered again.

"Yes."

"No." George obviously realized that he couldn't really give this man one of his talking purple business cards. Mr. Berger was looking at them with a strange expression at their inability to decide whether they did or not. Cassie took over and picked up her purse.

"I actually have the business cards, dear. In my purse. I thought I would bring a few, just in case. You never know." They actually had two sets of business cards, which was absolutely necessary in Cassie's opinion. One was the regular set that Fred and George handed out to everyone they knew. They were large, purple, and spoke when you picked them up, often making slightly off-color jokes. The other set was vastly more sedate, plain black and white, except for the Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes logo. This set had no address on it, just the website and email addresses. Cassie had had those made up and although George hated the things, he didn't complain too much in public. She opened her bag and looked inside. Along with her passport and George's and the traveler cheques and the usual debris that seemed to always accumulate during a trip, were four tiny boxes along the bottom, their suitcases, shrunk to a convenient size. She reached past those and picked up the small packet of business cards, handing them to George. She shut the purse again as he handed two of the cards across the aisle. "As you can see, Mr. Berger, we actually don't have a store front. We're strictly e-commerce." Cassie explained.

"Oh. And that does well for you?"

"Very well."

"Good for you, then. It's good to know there are young entrepreneurs out there. Makes me feel better about the future. I'll have to check the site out."

"Please do. And let us know what you think. There's a feedback link." Cassie didn't tell him that she did most of the work on the website since George had said that he ran the shop himself. Before Mr. Berger could really say anything else, the pilot came on and announced that they were starting to descend and that they needed to put their seatbacks in the upright position and stow their trays. The next 20 minutes or so were filled with the stewardess coming around to collect the assorted trash as well as make sure they were following the pilot's orders about having their seatbelts fastened. George pulled his tighter and double checked that Cassie's was securely fashioned.

The landing was fairly smooth and once they were on the ground, Cassie extracted her yet-again smashed fingers from George's sweaty hand. They both stood up and Cassie reached up and put her arms around his neck. "I love you, Mr. Weasley. Thank you."

"I love you, too, Mrs. Weasley. You're welcome. What are you thanking me for?"

"For coming with me to Florida."

"Well, truthfully, Cassie, I'd follow you anywhere at the moment. How much longer 'til we get to be alone?" Cassie kissed him softly. "Just until we get to the hotel. Maybe another hour."

"Another hour! Aaagh! I thought you said the hotel was close to the airport."

"Well, it is. But we have to go through customs and that takes a while, even at this late hour."

"What time is it anyway?"

"Cassie did some quick mental math. About 10 here. About 3 back home."

"You're going to fall asleep on me."

"I am not going to fall asleep. And if by some chance I do, I give you permission to wake me up."

George just growled in his throat. "Let's get going. The sooner we get to the hotel, the sooner we can . . ."

"Can what?" She asked with a completely innocent look on her face as they walked off the plane.

"Funny. Do honeymoon stuff, you know." She grinned.

"Yeah. I know. Just teasing you. I'm anxious, too, believe it or not."

"I believe it. After all, I'm irresistible. I've been having to fight you off me for months." Cassie laughed. It was true, though. The heat had been building between them for so long that it was going to be strange to be finally able to do all the things they had wanted to since they started getting serious. And she promised herself that she would tell him how much she appreciated his self-control. Later.

Cassie was thinking about what was going to happen when they finally did get to the hotel as George steered them right toward the customs area. All the other passengers headed over to the luggage carousels but everything they had brought was safely inside her purse. A Customs agent smiled at them.

"Welcome to Orlando. Anything to declare?"

"Uh, no." Cassie said, smiling back. This was easier than she thought it was going to be. But before they actually left the area, a very grouchy-looking woman held up her hand, stopping the two of them.

"Luggage? Where are your suitcases?"

Cassie gulped. Darn. She had meant to have George "unshrink" two of the suitcases so they wouldn't look completely out of place, but had forgotten in the haze of their earlier discussion. No one could blame her. George could be very distracting.

"Uh . . ." Cassie was thinking quickly, trying to decide how to explain that they had just forgotten they had to pick them up when George glared impatiently at the woman.

"We've got it all. She's carrying everything." Cassie's eyes widened. He couldn't have said anything worse and he didn't even look friendly and relaxed or particularly trustworthy.

"What he means is that I've got all the money. We're going to be buying things here. We didn't bring anything . . ." But the woman wasn't appeased.

"Step over here, please." Cassie cursed under her breath. But she stepped over to the table, dragging a now very disgruntled George with her.

"How long are you going to be in the United States?"

"Two weeks." Cassie said this hesitatingly but decided that there was no use lying to the woman. It was just going to get them into more trouble.

"Two weeks? And you didn't bring any luggage at all? Why are you here?"

"It's our honeymoon," George volunteered. "We didn't think we'd need many clothes." Cassie closed her eyes and wished she could have put a silencing spell on her new husband. It wasn't that he was trying to cause problems. He just wasn't used to dealing with government officials. Well, non-wizarding ones anyway.

"I see." But if anything, rather than causing her to smile and dismiss them, she looked even more suspicious. "I'll need to inspect your bag, please, ma'am." But it wasn't a question. Cassie looked at George trying to will him silently to do something, make the suitcases invisible or something, but he just smiled at her and didn't even look worried. She hoped he would suddenly cause a distraction, throw fireworks, turn into a canary or something. However, the woman dumped Cassie's purse out onto the table and looked over the contents.

She picked up the two passports and looked them over carefully, inspecting the pictures and their faces with narrowed eyes. She put those aside and another agent came over to join her. She looked at the package of traveler's cheques, just glancing through them without too much concern. "You shouldn't carry all these in one place. It's dangerous."

"Uh, yes. Now that we're on the ground . . . we'll split them up." She nodded as she continued to look through things. She pushed aside a receipt from something they had bought in the airport and some makeup as well as some aspirin which Cassie had tossed in at the last moment. Then, all that was left was the four small miniature suitcases.

"What are these?"

"Uh, well, see . . . um . . ." Cassie grabbed George's hand and squeezed. Now was not the time for him to speak up. "They're doll things."

"Doll things?"

"Yes. You know. For those highly collectible dolls . . . come with all the accessory items and things."

"So, you didn't bring any luggage of your own? But, you brought doll luggage?"

"Well, um. Like my husband said, we are going to buy what we need here. And I collect these dolls and he promised he would take me shopping for more doll luggage as part of his wedding present and I wanted to make sure we didn't get the same thing again and so . . . I thought I would bring what I already had at home." The woman didn't look like she believed Cassie but couldn't think of anything devious they could be doing with tiny suitcases, so what choice did she have?

"Do they open?"

"No." But then one flipped open as the other agent pushed on the latch and Cassie flushed. "I mean, No, I don't mind if you open them." The woman's face seemed to soften as she looked at the tiny little clothes and accessories. She picked up a tiny hairbrush and a set of hot curlers then looked down at Cassie's little shoes.

"These are incredible. I've never seen anything so detailed."

"Yes. And the stuff is very expensive. So please be careful."

The second agent bent closer to the tiny clothes and pulled out something that caught his eye. Cassie gulped hard but could feel the hot blood rushing to her face. "My, oh, my. This is interesting. Are the dolls anatomically correct or something?" He was holding up a very sheer negligee. True, it was miniaturized, but Cassie still didn't want her lingerie held up for everyone to see. That was strictly for George's eyes only.

"Do you mind? Put that back!" She chanced a quick glance at her husband whose eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head.

"Yes, my wife's, uh, doll's underthings don't need to be trotted out in front of an entire airport full of people."

"Well, there's no reason to get upset. I don't think anyone is going to get too distressed over the thought of a doll's nightie." George just scowled and the customs agent, perhaps sensing a storm brewing across the counter, stuffed the nightie back into the suitcase. He closed it and picked up a second one. He opened the next suitcase and both of them looked down at the contents of this bag. This was one of George's suitcases and the male agent reached down and pulled something out of it.

"A broom? Why would someone want a broom in their luggage?" The broomstick was minute, practically unrecognizable, but now that it was on his hand, that was obviously what it was. Cassie's eyes grew wide but she quickly masked her surprise.

"Well, of course, normally it doesn't go into the luggage. It's separate. There's a maid doll, you know, very popular. But, well, I had to put it with the other items. Otherwise, it could easily have gotten lost. It's so tiny." He nodded and it didn't seem to dawn on him that it was out of scale with the rest of the items. It was obvious to Cassie that George had shrunk it once to get it into the suitcase and then let it be shrunk again with the rest of the luggage. The agent put the broom back on top of the miniature clothes and shut the suitcase.

"Please wait here." The two agents took a step back from the table and conferred in low voices. By now, the other passengers from the plane had gotten their luggage and were passing through customs quickly. A few looked over at Cassie and George with interest, wondering why they had been stopped. George looked frustrated, but didn't say anything.

"You brought your broom?!"

George shrugged. "Well, you never know when it might come in handy."

"You think you are going to set out flying from our hotel?"

"No reason to get testy, Cassie. I wouldn't want to buy a new one if we should need one." He winked at her and bent close to her ear. "Besides. I seem to remember that you like to fly. Maybe we can have a romantic interlude on that broom. Then you'd be happy I brought it." Cassie turned bright red, trying not to picture exactly what he had in mind but before she could frame an appropriate response, the agents stepped back to the table.

"You're free to go. We can't really think of anything nefarious you could be doing with these tiny objects. However, we recommend that in the future, you travel with some conventional luggage. And maybe leave the doll stuff at home."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Cassie quickly gathered up all of the things from the table and stuffed it back into her purse scowling slightly as her suitcase, which hadn't been shut tightly, opened and everything fell out. "Great." But she just smiled at them and took George's hand. "Come on, George. Let's go. I'm tired."

They made their way out of the airport and the heat hit her like a wet blanket. George groaned as well. "Aah. It's horrible out here."

"Yeah. It's Florida. In August. Hot and Wet. Everyone told me to expect it."

"Well, you should have passed the message on to me. I would have worn my swim trunks." Where are we going now?" Cassie smiled at the thought of George traveling on the aeroplane in nothing but his swim trunks. And he would have done it, too, no doubt.

"We still have to get to the hotel. We've got tickets for the shuttle." George looked at the taxis lined up at the curve.

"Can't we take a taxi? They're bound to be faster. And more private."

Cassie looked at the line of taxis as well. It was true that the thought of a taxi was tempting rather than the shuttle. However, they already had the tickets.

"We don't have any American dollars, George. We still need to exchange money. We better just do the shuttle thing."

"Oh, all right. You don't think . . ."

"Well, I just wasn't thinking, I guess, when I made the reservations." They went over to join the queue for the shuttle and a few minutes later one pulled up. There were about 10 people wanting to get on and the driver came around and put all their luggage into the back of the big van. He looked questioningly at Cassie and George, but they just shrugged and Cassie said, "It got lost. They'll bring it out to the hotel later." George looked at her questioningly but Cassie just sighed. "It happens. Don't worry."

They both climbed in with everyone else and found themselves split up, Cassie in the back corner of the last seat and George on the middle seat between a boy who looked about 5 who was sniffling loudly as he was buckled in and a woman who was busily strapping a baby into a car seat on her other side. He glanced back and her, looking completely lost but Cassie just smiled reassuringly. The drive to the hotel wasn't very long and he wouldn't die up there. She didn't know about herself, of course. The heat and the humidity and the other bodies crushed close to her in the back row were all combining to make her feel suddenly very claustrophobic. She closed her eyes, trying to think of somewhere cool and open and force herself to relax, but then the shuttle pulled away from the curb and she opened them quickly. She would get carsick at this rate. She tried to focus on George on the long hot ride to keep herself from screaming. He had started talking to the boy next to him. Before they drove up to the entrance of the Grand Floridian where they had their reservations, the boy was asleep, leaning up against him. Cassie smiled at her husband as he disentangled himself from the little sleeping form. No one else got out, obviously going to other hotels in the Park. They both stood there looking at each other and Cassie suddenly felt shy.

"That was nice. What you did for that little boy."

"I just talked to him. He was a cute little kid."

"You're good with kids."

"Yeah. I'd like to have a few of my own. Let's go practice making some." Cassie flushed brightly and didn't know whether to kiss him or slug him.

"You say the most outrageous things, George Weasley."

"Well, Cassie Weasley. The way I think of it, I have been married for almost 18 hours and I still haven't been able to be alone with my wife. I deserve to be a bit outrageous."

"True. And I haven't been alone with my husband, either."

"Then let's get up to our room quickly and remedy the situation." He looked down at her with narrowed eyes. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes. Wide awake. Let's go. We've still got to register."

"Oh, you're kidding me! Can't we just go up to our room?"

"No. We don't have the key or anything."

"Who needs a key? A simple Alohamora spell and we're good."

"George, come on. It won't take long."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Promise. We just need to tell them we're here and get the key."

It actually was a little bit more complicated than that, but not much. They had gotten a regular Muggle credit card for this trip which George wasn't used to using, but he didn't say anything too unusual and the people at the desk were able to take an imprint without too much problem. The bellboy was anxious to take their luggage up, but Cassie repeated her story about it getting lost by the airline and how they would be sending it along probably later the next day. That caused a bit of a problem because the clerk, wanting to be as helpful as possible, asked for their paperwork so that he could make sure all the luggage came when the delivery boy brought it. However, Cassie was able to talk him out of that which was good as they didn't have any paperwork to give him. She also cashed one of her small traveler's cheques and handed the money to George.

A few minutes later, they were in the lift and George wrapped his arm around Cassie, pulling her close and kissing her hard, completely ignoring the presence of the bellboy who was looking discreetly at the numbers as they climbed, trying his best to ignore them. "I'm never going to be alone with you, am I? I'm starting to think this is a conspiracy. I can hardly wait to see you in the larger version of the lacy thing that oaf pulled out of your luggage." Cassie felt another rush of heat through her body and she held tighter to him, afraid her legs wouldn't hold her up anymore.

"Just a few more minutes." His hand slipped under her blouse and she was startled at the heat of it. She'd felt it plenty of times against her skin in the past, but knowing that very soon they would be . . . she flushed and buried her head against his shoulder. She felt all tingly inside, anxious and nervous but mostly excited. "I want to be alone, too." George just smiled faintly and kissed her again.

The hall seemed never-ending but finally they were standing in front of the door to their room. The bellboy looked rather sheepishly at them. "Usually I bring in the luggage and show you around the room a bit, but as you don't have any luggage . . . "

"We'll figure everything out on our own, I think." George smiled at him broadly. "We appreciate your coming up here with us, though." He took the keycard from his hand and turned toward the door, concentrating on the instructions for getting the door opened.

"George, you need to tip him."

"Oh." He pulled the wad of bills Cassie had handed him earlier out of his pocket and looked at them. He had gotten more comfortable with paper money because Cassie made him pay for things when they went out to Muggle restaurants and other such places. But she knew that he was still not used to using it. And of course, American money was all green rather than the multicolors of British currency. "Uh, how much would be normal?"

"About $5 I would think."

"How much is that in real money?" Cassie smiled.

"About 10 sickles, more or less," she whispered quietly, still clinging tightly to his arm for support.

"Ten sickles!! All he did was come up in the lift with us and I didn't even want him to do that!" So much for quiet. He had said that loudly enough that Cassie was surprised other people in the neighboring rooms didn't poke their heads out to see who was yelling.

"George – it's not his fault the airline lost our luggage, after all. If he had carried all the bags up you wouldn't be complaining."

"But, but . . ." The bellboy was just standing there, not letting any expression cross his face. George handed him a $5 bill. "There." Then he winked at Cassie. "But when those suitcases arrive, I expect you to bring them up here free."

"Uh, yes, sir. Of course." Then he was gone and they were finally alone. Out in the hall, it was true, but alone.

"Open this door for me, would you? I can't understand how this is supposed to work!" Cassie took the card out of his hand and was surprised to feel it actually shaking. Or maybe that was her. She didn't know whether they were both nervous or scared or what exactly, but she didn't say anything, just slid the card in, waited for the light to turn green, and opened the door. Before she stepped through it, though, she turned back to him, lacing her fingers through his.

"You're supposed to carry me over the threshold, you know."

"That's at home, not . . ." But his voice trailed off. "Whatever it takes to get you in there." He swung her up into his arms and kicked the door more open with his foot. Then he strode through into the dark, quiet room.


	2. Flying with a Wizard

This chapter took longer to write than I had anticipated. It was a tough balancing act between sexy, romantic, and fun. And I had to keep it clean, too. So, it wasn't easy. But I think it turned out well. Now, for those of you who don't know I post at Mugglenet, I do. And their forum is strictly G-rated. Some of my stuff pushes the envelope, but I always try to be tasteful. I believe I have satisfied the requirements of that forum in that there is no bad language and nothing is described outright in this chapter. However, they are on their honeymoon so there are a few hints and suggestions about them doing, as George says, honeymoon stuff. Enjoy and feel free to leave me feedback if you are so inclined.

Flying with A Wizard

George kicked the door shut behind him and set Cassie down. They kissed softly, his hands tangling in her hair. "Thank Merlin, Cassie. I started to wonder if we were ever going to make it up here."

"It's been a long day, hasn't it?" She kissed him back but then pulled away and stepped into the main part of the room.

"An eternity, really." She reached for the light switch and turned it on, her eyes widening in happiness at the sight of the room. It was beautiful. George stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against him. "This is very nice. You were right." The spacious room was done in a light coral color with white trim, making it look cool and comfortable, even in the heat of August in Florida. The furniture (including a small sitting area with a couch, stuffed chair, and coffee table, a desk, two dressers, and a tall bureau which undoubtedly held the television set, and the big king-sized bed which Cassie tried not to look at too intently) was a dark cherry and looked solid and well-built. There was some nice artwork on the wall, some really nice looking paintings of various views of the park and everything just looked very welcoming. The windows were large and Cassie stepped over to them.

"We have a really nice view. You can see what they call the Magic Kingdom."

"Mmmm. Well, I'll tell you what's magical. And that's you and me." Cassie giggled nervously and then wanted to kick herself for sounding so immature. "Look over there, Cassie." George laughed. Cassie turned to see where he was looking and laughed, too. There was a hot tub, actually in the room. "That's great. We'll have to use it tomorrow." Cassie suddenly felt very shy, which was stupid, but she did. She swallowed.

"Yeah. There are two pools, here, too. So we can swim a lot." She finally dared to look directly at the bed and smiled again. The covers were turned down, revealing gorgeous linens and fluffy-looking pillows. On each pillow was a delicious looking chocolate.

Cassie glanced over at the coffee table and saw a large basket of assorted gifts. "Look, George, they gave us a present."

"Nice. What's in here?" He walked over to the coffee table and pulled the basket over to him. "There's some crackers and cheese and some mints. And more chocolates – nothing too exciting there. But, ooh, champagne! That's really fancy! Let's have some tonight. Oh, yeah. Here are the glasses!" He stood up holding the bottle and two glasses. "I'll pour that while you're uh . . . getting ready."

"Getting ready?" Cassie looked at him, feeling nervous and unsure what he was meaning. His face flushed.

"Yeah, ready. For, uh, . . . well, bed. I mean . . . I assumed, well, Fred said you would probably, you know, want to get changed into . . . ." Cassie suddenly understood what he was saying and flushed like him.

"Oh! Oh! Yeah. I'll do that! In the bathroom!" Then she realized that her suitcases, one of them still turned upside down, were in her purse. "But you'll need to enlarge the suitcases first."

"That would probably help. And I've got something special in there for us, too. Do you want candles?"

"Candles?"

"Yes. Would that be all right?" She nodded faintly, unsure. "I mean, I thought maybe that would be romantic. I want . . ." He stepped close to her and lifted her chin. "I want this to be perfect for you." He bent down and for a moment they both lost their sense of embarrassment and enjoyed the kiss. She pulled back after a minute.

"The candles sound nice. But did you say you talked to Fred about . . . tonight?"

"Well, yeah. A little bit." He pulled out his wand. "You'd better get the suitcases out of your purse." She looked at him as she reached in and pulled out the three bags that were still closed. "I was nervous. I didn't know . . . you know, what to do with you. I mean, what you would like."

"I see." She tried not to laugh at the look on his face. "And you thought Fred would know? What I would like?" He turned even brighter red.

"I thought that what had worked for Angelina . . . might, well. I don't know. Look, do we have to talk about this now? You can yell at me tomorrow."

"I don't want to yell at you, George. I think that was very sweet." He started to wave his wand but she yelled to stop him. "Wait! Let me get all the stuff out of my purse, first. Otherwise, it will explode." She dug through the bottom of her purse and pulled out the various miniature clothes, stuffing them haphazardly into the suitcase. She was grateful that the things she wanted to use tonight were in the suitcase that those agents hadn't pawed through at the airport. The one nightgown he had found had been something she had put in at the last minute. Finally, she thought she had got almost everything out and George enlarged the luggage back to its normal size.

"All right. Well, uh, take all the time you need. I'll pour the champagne and light the candles."

"Okay." She darted into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Her hands were shaking faintly as she turned on the light. The bathroom was as fancy as the rest of the room and she wondered if maybe she should ask George if he needed to use it before she monopolized it for a few minutes. She opened the door again. "George . . . do you need to use the bathroom?"

"Yeah. Actually, I do. Thanks." Their eyes met as he walked over to her. He smiled broadly and Cassie smiled back, a little nervously. He went inside and she heard a loud whistle. "Wow! This bathroom is huge! I think it's bigger than Ron's bedroom at home!"

"It is pretty big." She waited outside and a few minutes later he came back out.

"At least you won't be crowded in there."

"No, I won't be crowded." He held the door open for her and she slipped inside one more time, hearing his gentle chuckle as she shut the door firmly. She pulled out the negligee she was going to wear for the night and felt her stomach clench with nerves. She loved him. She really wanted this. But she also had to admit that she was unsure what to really expect. Hermione had spoken to her a bit, as had her own mother and she had read plenty of romance novels. She knew the mechanics of what they were going to do . . . but none of them had ever actually been with George. All the better, that. But she doubted that Ron's shy hesitancy would be similar to George's attitude. Champagne and candles! And she didn't even want to think about her mum and dad – yeah, it was best not even to go there at all. Maybe she should have talked to Angelina, but she got the definite impression from them that their wedding night was not their first time together, so how they acted on their wedding night was not really going to be similar to George and Cassie's. Of course, they had to have had a first time together. Maybe she should have swallowed her nerves and asked Angelina what it had been like. Well, too late now anyway, so no use thinking about it.

She hoped George liked the way she looked. She looked at herself in the mirror, critically, wondering what his thoughts would be when he saw her. She hoped he liked what she had chosen to wear. She had debated for a few weeks now what exactly to wear tonight. She had considered several options including his old white shirt she had worn as pyjamas during her stay at the Burrow which she still had tucked in a drawer. But she had finally settled on this – a white negligee with blue lace trim that stopped at mid thigh and then a sheer peignoir over the top. It was, well, sexy if she could say so herself and she thought she looked really nice in it. She knew that George thought she was attractive but she still was nervous to actually have him look at her in this, and undoubtedly less.

It was only then that she turned her thoughts to what George would be wearing. She had no idea what to expect when she walked out there. Would he be wearing pyjamas? She had seen what he wore for pyjamas at home and they were okay, if a little threadbare last she had noticed. Would he have a new set? Would he just wear underwear? Would he just have on a bathrobe? She thought she might die if she walked out there and he was standing there naked! She forced her mind back to herself. Whatever he wore, she would be all right with it. They were married now.

She swallowed and decided it was time to pull out her supposed Gryffindor courage. She washed her face and then dabbed a little perfume on her wrists and neck and then a little on her stomach under the lace of the negligee. Finally, she couldn't delay any longer and she opened the bathroom door, knowing that whatever did happen, George would take care of her and it would undoubtedly be wonderful.

Her first impression was surprise that the lights were still on. She had expected that by now he would have the candles lit and have the lights turned off. She thought for a moment. Yeah, she had definitely turned on the lights in front of him so he would have known where to turn them off without any problem. She stepped further from the safety of the bathroom, clutching the admittedly sheer robe closer around her, wondering whether he had had problems lighting the candles.

She finally saw George and she just couldn't help the smile that lit her face. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Well, one thing about it. She would have blackmail material for the rest of her life. She walked over to him and carefully removed the wand from his hand, laying it on the night stand. Poor baby. He should have had some coffee. She debated about removing his shoes and decided against it. Not that she would mind if he woke up, but if he was that tired, then he obviously needed his rest. She looked at the two glasses of champagne he had managed to pour before he had fallen asleep and picked one up and took a tentative swallow. That was good stuff. She took another swallow and then crossed over to the closet, stretching on her tiptoes to see the top shelf. Reaching, she pulled down the light comforter kept there in case someone was too cold (they had to be kidding) and then carefully covered her husband with it. She swallowed the rest of the glass of champagne, giggling slightly as the bubbles tickled her nose. It took her a second to figure out how to turn off all the lights, but she did so, leaving only the one by her side of the bed lit. Then she pulled back the covers on the bed opposite where George was propped in a sort of semi-reclined position and slid in between the sheets. A moment later a flick of the switch plunged the room into complete darkness.

Cassie awoke later as she was jiggled in bed. She lay perfectly still and then smiled as she heard George curse quietly. He got off the bed and she rolled over and looked up at him. It was dark in the room but she could see him well enough and she supposed that he could see she was awake.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"I can't believe I fell asleep. I want to kill myself."

"That's a bit drastic, don't you think?"

"But . . . I wanted things to be romantic and perfect and . . . . I don't know. My plans did not involve crashing on the bed fully dressed. Fred is going to laugh himself silly. Hell, even Ron is going to-"

"They don't need to know. I won't tell. At least not right away. I think that if I ever want something very badly, I have blackmail material." Cassie heard him groan. "I was kidding. No one else needs to ever know that you fell asleep. On your wedding night. While I was in the bathroom." He groaned again, but Cassie knew that he trusted her. He sat down on the bed, and held his face in his hands.

"I bet you were putting on something really great. Something see-through."

"Uh-huh. I was."

"What do you want me to do now? I wouldn't blame you if you're angry. I can sleep on the couch, I guess." There was a heartbeat of silence.

"Or you could get undressed and come to bed." A longer second of silence.

"Now?" His voice squeaked a little bit and Cassie couldn't help but smile at it.

"Well, it is the middle of the night." A pause. A breath. "And I'm still wearing the something really great."

111111111111111111111111111

Cassie stretched and rolled over in bed looking around at the room as the bright sunlight penetrated even the thick curtains. She knew that it had to still be pretty early because her body clock was still set for England time and her stomach was growling. She wanted breakfast. She turned back to her sleeping husband, stretching out her hand and ruffling his hair. He made some sort of indistinct grunting noise but didn't open his eyes. She took up the challenge and bent forward, placing a kiss on his bare shoulder and then another on his collarbone. When she reached his breastbone, she felt him move and knew he was awake. His hands grabbed her shoulders and he lifted her away from him.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley."

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley." They smiled at each other shyly in the light. "I'm hungry. I'll need to be fed."

"I'm hungry, too. But not for food." Cassie raised an eyebrow.

"Again? How about we make a deal? You feed me – and in a while I'll try on something else really great." She sat up and pulled the sheet around her. George made a move to pull the sheet away, but she avoided his hands and reached for the phone. "Let me introduce you to something wonderful-"

"You already did that." His voice was low and suggestive and he pulled harder at the sheet.

"Naughty boy. I mean it. Room service."

"Room service? And it has something to do with the telephone?"

"Yes." She grabbed the menu from under the phone and thrust it at him. He scowled but took it and looked it over.

"What is room service exactly?"

"The Muggle equivalent of a house elf. Now tell me what we should have. I'll talk to them." The kitchen picked up and Cassie relayed George's order over the phone. She hung up a little later "It should be here in about 15 minutes." Cassie looked at the bathroom and considered her options. George was sitting up now, running his hands through his hair so that it was standing straight up on end in some spots. "You probably better throw on some clothes. They'll probably bring it in for us."

He winked at her with a broad smile. "Fifteen minutes? If we hurry, we can be out of the shower by then." Cassie's eyes opened a little wider. A shower together sounded . . . nice. But she wasn't sure they would actually manage to be dressed again in 15 minutes. And besides . . . she wasn't sure she was that brave yet.

"Uh, well . . . how about if you wait for the food and I go take a shower alone this time?" George looked less than thrilled at that idea, but he shrugged in apparent resignation as she awkwardly stood up from the bed, wrapping the sheet tighter around her. She blushed brightly as she stepped over her negligee and the wrap that went with it thrown down by the side of the bed and then over various articles of George's clothing like shoes and socks and shirt that he had practically ripped off last night after she had been bold enough to tell him to get undressed.

"If you're sure you don't want to share that huge bathroom, Cassie, why don't I go first, then I can wait for the food and let you take your time in there." She flushed bright pink as he stood up from the bed, apparently not as embarrassed about being starkers as she was. He winked as he passed her, grabbing something out of a suitcase. But she got him back.

"I don't know, George. Last time you told me to take my time . . . you fell asleep!" He laughed loudly, but didn't reply except to turn on the shower and invite her one more time to join him. A few minutes later he emerged from the bathroom looking so delicious that Cassie was tempted to stick the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door and let the food get cold sitting out in the hall. However, she knew she really needed to wash up. She certainly wasn't looking too attractive at the moment, so she gathered up her sheet modestly and tried to look graceful as she passed him. He stopped her and kissed her sweetly and she groaned as his tongue traced her lips. "I need to brush my teeth." His mouth tasted fresh and she was tempted to stay there and explore a little more but he patted her on the rear end and gave her a gentle push toward the bathroom.

"Get cleaned up so we can have breakfast. I can't have you fainting from hunger on our first day as wizard and wife, can I?" She grabbed some clothes out of the suitcase but before she shut the bathroom door and emerged from the sheet, she heard his protest. "I thought you were going to wear another one of those little see-through nightgowns?"

Cassie stood for a long time under the heat of the shower, letting it sooth all the sore, stiff places. She washed her hair and sighed in pleasure as all the fussy curls the hairdresser had put in two days ago vanished. She jumped in startled surprise as George knocked on the shower door.

"Hey, sweetheart, the food's here."

"It is?" She called loudly over the pounding water.

"Yes, and it looks good." She didn't know quite what to do. The obvious thing would be to get out of shower, but she hadn't brought a towel in with her. She considered just getting out in front of him and trying not to blush all over, but as she turned off the water, she realized she probably couldn't do that. She just wasn't used to this yet. She stood there for a minute trying to decide how to ask for a towel and then the door opened and an arm thrust one in to her. "Here you go. You sure you don't want company?"

"I'm done now."

"Well, you never can be too clean, I always say." She laughed and he joined in and then a moment later, she heard the bathroom door close. When she emerged from the bathroom five minutes later, George gave a loud wolf whistle from across the room. "Whoa! I didn't know you even owned clothes like that! Why haven't I seen those before?"

"I'm full of surprises." She was wearing shorts and a tank top. Neither was particularly immodest, but it was true that she had always been more covered in front of him before. That was partly because her mother had insisted and partly because she knew how much he had controlled himself before they were married, and she hadn't wanted to drive him insane. "It's hot here so . . . I've got a swimsuit, too. If you're a good boy, you can see it later."

They ate then, savoring the food and the company. It was nice being totally relaxed in front of each other, able to say and do anything they wanted to. They kissed a lot and fed each other strawberries and slices of peach. George let his hand wander under her top a few times and she smiled indulgently at him as his eyes flared with desire. He was only wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms, dark gray, made of a soft cotton material that was heavenly to touch. They tied and it seemed as though he had purposely tied them a little loose because they hung low on his hips which made them look like they were going to slide off any moment.

Cassie was just feeling comfortably full when George stood and piled all the dirty dishes back on the tray and shoved the cart back toward the door. "That's enough of that. I believe you promised me something." He opened the door and pushed the cart outside of it. Cassie walked up behind him as he shut the door and fastened the chain. When he turned around, she was right there and she pressed up against him.

"I did promise you something, didn't I?"

"Yes. You did. You're not going to back out of it now, are you?"

Cassie winked and grabbed a hold of the ties that held his pyjama bottoms up, then started backing into the bedroom again, tugging gently. He followed her, a look sparking in his eyes that she already recognized and loved. "I'd never do that to you. Trust me." She felt the bed behind her knees and sat down, smiling up into his shining eyes. She tugged a little harder on the ties and the knot came loose. She winked again. "I just want to say one thing about that. And that one thing is this: Come on, Wizard Boy, do some magic on me." George threw back his head and laughed and then proceeded to do exactly that.


	3. Into the Park

I'm so sorry that this chapter has taken so long to write. I've had the first part written for about a week but have had a really hard time getting the rest of it written. I've probably rewritten parts of it 3 or 4 times. So, I'm sorry you've had to wait while I've dithered, but here it is, finally. I hope it doesn't disappoint. It's a bit shorter than some chapters, but there will be more coming up and hopefully it won't take as long next time.  
  
Just as a disclaimer, all of the Disney characters naturally belong to Disney. I've tried to describe the park based on Disneyland as I have never been to Disney World, but any errors or bad descriptions are solely my own fault.   
  
Enjoy! And again, I'm sorry for the long delay!  
  
Into the Park  
  
"We've been here for four days. I think today is the day we should actually go into the park." Cassie smiled at George as she knelt behind him on the bed and slipped her arms around his neck. He didn't reply immediately and Cassie leaned to the side so she could see his face. He bent over and pulled on his second trainer and tied it before he said anything. Cassie laughed because she was now supported almost completely by his broad back. When he sat back up, she once again braced her weight on her knees and then kissed his shoulder.  
  
"I can think of much more enjoyable things to do here. In the room."  
  
Cassie stood up and pulled him up into a standing position. "Well, we can't do that 24 hours a day, although we've made a valiant effort at trying. I don't understand the problem. Don't you want to go? You've had a good time when we've walked around and looked at the shops and things. And I know you loved the restaurant last night. We can go into the park for a couple of hours and then we'll have lunch there again, if you want."  
  
George grinned and looped his arms loosely around her waist. "Ah, trying to bribe me with food, huh?" He kissed her mouth sweetly and then trailed his lips over her jaw and down the side of her neck. Cassie's breath caught. He was so good at this. He nudged aside the neck of her T-shirt and kissed her neck right where it met her shoulder and she shivered. They had just barely showered and dressed but he was trying to convince her to come back to bed, obviously. Not that she wasn't tempted. . . . .but she really wanted to go into the park and ride a few rides.  
  
"You're trying to bribe me, too, George." His only answer was a mumbled groan as he nuzzled further under her shirt. She pulled out her last and most desperate weapon."You can't tell me that you're frightened."  
  
He stood up instantly, eyes flashing indignantly. "I'm not frightened of any Muggle contraption." Cassie just met his eyes steadily.  
  
"Prove it, then. Come with me."  
"You really want to do this?"  
  
"Yes. I really do. And I know you're going to have a great time."  
  
"Maybe. But we can have a great time with just the two of us. Here. In bed." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
"We'll do that later. If you come with me." He groaned.  
  
"Fred warned me about this. 'She'll threaten to never sleep with you again if you don't do everything she wants, George. Trust me on this' he said, but I didn't believe him." Cassie raised an eyebrow.   
  
"I didn't threaten to never sleep with you again. I just offered you . . . an incentive, so to speak. If you really don't want to go . . ." she let her voice trail off. "We could go swimming or something instead." They had managed to make it downstairs to one of the pools the day before and they had had a wonderful time frolicking in the water. George was a strong swimmer and it was fun to be in the pool with him. He had only made one complaint and that was the one-piece swimming costume she had worn. She had a bikini with her that she had worn into the hot tub and he wanted her to wear it again. She had declined, however, saying it was for his eyes only. That had led to some delay before they actually made it down to the pool.  
  
"All right. I'll go with you. For two hours."  
  
"Or so."  
  
"Or so. And then we'll have lunch."  
  
"If you want."   
  
"And then we'll come back here."  
  
"If you still want to. Maybe you'll be having such a good time that you won't want to."  
  
"Do you really think some rusty Muggle machinery is going to do anything for me in the way of excitement? I can fly by myself."  
  
"You need a broom, which is not so different, for all your arrogance, George Weasley. Besides, you don't 'fly' on these rides. You do all sorts of different things. And how do you know you won't enjoy it unless you try it?"  
  
"Fine, then, two hours. We'll try it for two hours. Then we eat. Then we come back here."  
  
"That's the plan."  
It took them about 30 minutes to get out of the hotel room and down to the monorail stop. For one thing, Cassie had to convince George to wear sunscreen. He didn't like the idea, saying that he was a wizard and he never sunburned. Cassie just scowled at him, saying that as a wizard from Britain he didn't have a clue about Florida sun. Finally, she managed to get him to put it on although he kept saying that if it was this much work to go outside, they should just stay inside. She also had to get together their money and tickets as well as the guide she had bought at the gift shop the day before. George was trying to be helpful, but he wasn't quite sure how to. He insisted on taking his wand although Cassie tried hard to discourage him from the idea. "It might get lost, George. Or someone might steal it. Pickpockets are always a big problem when you get a lot of tourists together." George just looked at her and shook his head.  
  
"No one will touch my wand. And it won't fall out of my pocket, either. Don't worry about it."  
  
"I don't know why you want it."  
  
"I'm a wizard. I like my wand with me."  
  
"Well, all right. If you're sure. Let's go."  
  
It was only a few minutes later that the two of them disembarked from the monorail car and showed their tickets to the man at the park entrance. He smiled at them and then said, "Have a Magical Day!" George stopped and looked at him.  
  
"What do you know about Magic?" Cassie tugged on his hand.  
  
"They say that to everyone, George. It's their motto."  
  
"Is that true?" George asked the rather shocked-looked employee.   
  
"Yes. That is our motto. She's right." Cassie tugged harder on his hand and George followed her, glancing back at the man who was now greeting the next person in line.  
  
"Did you know they believe in magic here when we came?"  
  
"Well, it's a different kind of magic, but yeah."  
  
"I already like this place better. I should go back and show him my wand. I bet he'd find it interesting."  
  
"George . . . " He got the hint, apparently, and they set off down the street. They walked hand in hand down the sidewalk past all the little shops that made up the Main Street of Disney World, George looking around at the various little food shops and commenting about all the stuff he wanted to come back and eat eventually. Cassie knew that if they really stopped and ate at all these places they would both be seriously sick, but it was nice to dream. She did make note of the fudge shop, though, and also one of the ice cream parlors. They looked particularly tasty. They had been down this street the day before for just a little while as they walked to the restaurant for dinner and George had been really impressed with the little shops. They had gone into a few to see how they were set up and George had even spoken to a few of the employees asking about traffic flow and crowd control and everything. They had even managed to stumble upon a wondering Donald Duck which Cassie knew was a rare occurrence. She had insisted in waiting in the rather long line and having George take her picture with the life-size creature. George, who was unfamiliar with the Disney characters, kept trying to talk her out of it, but she would not be dissuaded.  
  
"It's a duck, Cassie. And a rather strange looking one at that. I've never seen a duck that wears clothes."  
  
"It's not just a duck, George. It's Donald Duck. And you just don't run across him every day. You can wait." Cassie gave him a quick lesson on using the "Muggle camera" and the picture taking had been semi-successful. Some of the kids in line had looked at George a little funny because he called him Ronald the Duck but Cassie was able to laugh it off.  
  
Today, though, they didn't see any of the characters as they walked through Main Street and into the main parts of the park. George looked impressed at the lines of people and at the various landscaping. They were both just sort of drifting, not really heading toward anything in particular when he suddenly came to a sudden stop and looked at the sign in front of him. "What's this, Cassie?" She looked over at where he was looking and smiled.  
  
"It's a ride of some sort, I'm sure."  
  
"What is it like?"  
  
"I have no idea." She looked at the people in line. There were quite a few little kids standing there along with the regular teenagers and adults. "It can't be too scary, though. There are little kids in line."  
  
"I'm not worried about being scared. I was just curious, you know, so we would know what to expect."  
  
"Uh, huh. Come on. The line starts way back here." "They walked for a while before they found the end of the line. As Cassie had expected, George was not too thrilled about waiting.  
  
"This can't be the line for that ride. It must be something else." George tapped the shoulder of the 10-year-old boy in front of him. "Excuse me, what are you in line for?"  
  
"Haunted Mansion."   
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes. Positive."   
"The line seems kind of . . . long." The boy just grunted in response and George scowled.  
  
"It's okay, George. We can wait."  
  
"There was no reason for him to be so rude."  
  
"He's young, like a first year. Kids like that don't really talk well to adults."  
  
"I'm not an adult. I'm . . . ." He stopped talking, as if something had just dawned on him.  
  
"I hate to tell you this. But you're an old married man, now." George grinned and pulled her close, then kissed her passionately on the mouth.  
  
"I guess you're worth turning into an old married man for."   
  
"Thanks, I think." As Cassie had expected, George got quite impatient waiting in line, but they managed to pass the half hour or so by people watching and looking around at the various landscaping. From a distance, they saw one of the Chip 'N Dale chipmunks and Cassie thought she saw Winnie the Pooh, although George laughed so hard at the name that by the time she managed to convince him that he was a really cute little cuddly bear from a kids' story, the character was long gone. Shortly before they actually got into the spooky-looking mansion, Cassie opened up her guide book and read the description of the ride. "Okay. This is obviously supposed to be a haunted mansion. Hence the name. There are all sorts of ghosts in here and you ride through in something called a Doom Buggy. Okay, that's corny. It's rated four out of five stars in this guide and it says it's suitable for children. So you'll be okay." George groaned but he looked rather thoughtfully at her.  
  
"So, there are ghosts in here?"  
  
"Well, I . . . don't imagine they're real ghosts." She whispered this quietly but the kid in front of them laughed and Cassie thought he had probably heard her.  
  
"Oh. Why not?" He looked vaguely disappointed and Cassie had to smother a laugh of her own.  
  
"No such thing as ghosts, George. Stop kidding around."  
  
"Right. Of course there aren't. I just keep hoping I'll run into one somewhere. I've always been curious about things like ghosts, vampires, ghouls, goblins, uh, you know. Things like that." The boy in front snorted again like he was trying to muffle his laughter.   
  
"All right, sweetheart. It's good to know that for future reference. But probably Disney World is not really the best place to be looking for them. These are, I'm quite sure, fake ghosts."  
  
"Hmm." He seemed to be content to let the subject drop, but Cassie suspected that he had something going on in his brain. After all, he was not a mischievous genius for nothing. But short of confronting him right there in line, there wasn't much she could say. A few minutes later they were in the cool shade of the mansion and the old trees. It was blessed relief after the heat of the morning and Cassie lifted her hot sweaty hair off her neck and fanned herself.  
  
"That feels good."  
  
"Yes, it does. It's really amazing how they set the mood around here. It's like you really are at a haunted house. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Grimmauld Place. Before we cleaned it."  
  
"It does look a bit like it, doesn't it? That's what Disney does best. Sets the mood." It wasn't too much longer before they were actually ushered into the mansion. The door shut behind them and Cassie looked around a little nervously. She wasn't really frightened. After everything she had seen in real life, it took a lot to scare her, but she wasn't quite sure what to expect and wasn't quite sure what George would do, which added to her disquiet. A voice suddenly came into the large room and she grabbed George's hand as the floor started dropping beneath them. George, fortunately, just squeezed her hand back and they both laughed at the corny pictures on the wall which got longer and longer as the room got taller and they descended to the actual ride.  
  
The Doom Buggy was plenty big for the two of them, but they snuggled close together as they started through the supposedly haunted house. The ghosts were quite well done, Cassie thought, a bit corny but they had captured the sort of translucent whiteness of them pretty well. George whispered in her ear at one point, "Kind of makes me wonder if this Disney guy ever met an actual ghost. These are a bit overdone, but not too bad." Cassie just nodded, then laughed as they went into a haunted graveyard where all of the ghosts were acting very funny. They both jumped as a projection of a ghost sat in their little carriage with them and they both laughed as the ride came to an end.  
  
"That was great!" George helped her out of the car at the exit and Cassie glanced out at the line, trying to judge whether it was longer or shorter than it had been before. She glanced down at her watch. It had been a little more than an hour since they had walked through the entrance. So, they could probably do this again, if he wanted to.   
  
"Yeah. It was good. Want to go again?" George didn't answer her and she turned to find out where he had gone. He was over talking to one of the employees, a boy who looked to be about 18 or maybe a little older. Cassie's stomach clenched and she hurried over to him.  
  
"I'm just saying that I realize this is not your decision to make or anything, but I'd really like to speak to a supervisor. You have a few things in there that are just totally not ghostlike. Like that crystal ball with the head . . . They're just not like that. Anyway, for a small fee, I . . ."  
  
"George! What are you doing?"  
  
"Offering expertise. Consulting work."  
"We're on our honeymoon."   
  
"It wouldn't take long. Maybe a day." The boy was looking between the two of them like he was wondering whether they were both insane or if it was just the redheaded man who had just offered to help make the ghosts look more realistic.  
  
"We're on our honeymoon. And you already have a job." Cassie smiled nervously at the boy. "He's got a great imagination."  
  
"Hey! I resent that."  
  
"Do you want to go again?" George looked at Cassie, realizing that he had probably gone too far and that if he pushed it, she would be unhappy.  
  
"Sure. Why not?" But when he found out they would have to wait in the entire line again, he changed his mind. "Why don't we do something else for a while? We can always come back here later." Cassie didn't point out the fact that they were supposed to go to lunch in 45 minutes. If he wanted to do something different, she wouldn't complain.  
  
"What did you tell the boy?" she asked as they walked away from the mansion.  
  
"Just . . . I didn't mention anything about being a wizard or anything. I think I was very subtle. I'm sure he didn't think anything strange about it."   
  
"Okay. I appreciate that. What specifically did you tell him?"  
  
"I told him that I happened to be familiar with some actual ghosts and could make his look a little more realistic."  
  
"Muggles don't believe in ghosts, George."  
  
"Most do. You can't argue with me about that. I've seen some Muggle movies and Dad's told me that they do."   
  
"You're right. I don't want to argue about this. But I'm sure he thinks you're insane."  
  
"No, he wouldn't. Not for that."  
  
"He'll be telling his roommates tonight about the crazy man who talked to him like he really believes in ghosts." George flushed bright red.  
  
"Do you really think so?"  
  
"Yeah. I do."  
"Great. Sorry. I thought it would be all right."  
  
"I know. He doesn't know your name or anything. It's no big deal. Just, uh, well. Never mind. Let's find something else to do." The next area they went into was supposed to be sort of a fantasy area and Cassie looked at her guidebook. "It looks like there's a lot to do here. There's a jungle cruise and something called the Tiki Room. Ooh, and Pirates of the Caribbean. That's supposed to be pretty good."   
  
"What is that one, the pirate one?"  
  
"Don't know. Let me see what the guidebook says." She started flipping through the pages when someone sitting near them on the bench spoke up.  
  
"It's a great ride. You ride boats and go through scenes of these pirates raiding a town. They sing. You see skeletons and everything. I think you two would like it, although it's a bit intense for really small kids."  
  
"No kids. Just us." The woman smiled at Cassie.  
  
"I bet you'll both like it. It's one of my personal favorites."  
  
"Thanks for the recommendation. We'll go." They walked over to the ride and George groaned as he saw the line.  
  
"All we do around here is wait in line."  
  
"Stop complaining. It's not that bad." Cassie had planned on having them use the handy Fast-Pass feature so that they wouldn't have to wait in line, but she had read in the guidebook that usually you had to wait 2-3 hours before your scheduled time to come back. That might work for another day, but not when they had such a short time in the park.  
  
"Can we make out?"  
  
"George!"  
  
"It would keep my mind off the line."  
  
"Good thing you're kidding." He took her hand and pulled her close to him.  
  
"Who says I am?" Cassie just grinned and they found the back of the line, waiting patiently to see what this ride was like.


	4. Encounter with Pirates

A/N: I am sure that many of you thought I was either dead or had abandoned this story. I truly apologize for it taking so long to update. I just was never able to find the time to get the chapter together, despite my good intentions. I wish I could promise that the wait was worth it . . . . Well, I think it turned out very cute. There will be two or three more chapters probably, and hopefully it won't take me as long to update next time.

Chapter 4  
Encounter with Pirates

The wait in line for Pirates of the Carribean was long, but it moved quickly and George managed to keep Cassie's mind off it for the most part. For one thing, he was a keen observer of people and he kept her entertained with made-up background stories of various people ahead of them in line. Cassie had to bite her lip a few times at a particularly funny comment. There was a little bit of light snogging and a lot of laughing. As she stood there in the warmth of the Florida sun, Cassie was grateful that her new husband had such a great sense of humor. It was one of the things she loved most about him. One of many.

At one point, the kissing started to get a bit more intense and she had a feeling that George was going to demand they go back to the hotel room. She was trying to decide what to say if he asked but he looked up from kissing her and groaned. "We're almost to the front now. This hasn't been so bad." Cassie smiled into his shirt, resting her face against his chest, listening to the now-rapid beat of his heart.

"No, it hasn't. You're very good at distracting me."

He bent close to her ear and his breath was warm. "As soon as we're done with this ride, we're going back to our room. Then we'll both get distracted."

"You promised me lunch." She was only half kidding because her stomach was empty enough that she thought it wouldn't be too long before it started growling, which could be a bit embarrassing.

"Well, we can get room service, or eat downstairs – later." Cassie flushed and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"All right. That's a deal." They stood silently for a few minutes, just enjoying being together with no worries in the world other than how long the line was and what they were going to have for lunch. Finally, the two of them entered the cool darkness of the actual ride and then George groaned again as he realized there was even more of a line in there. 

"I hope this is worth it. We've already been waiting more than ½ hour."

"What are you upset about? We don't have anything better to do." She said this laughingly, wanting to provoke a reaction and the low growl of frustration in his throat was just what she was hoping for. She smiled and then wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe to get herself high enough. "Just teasing you, darling. Apparently, waiting in lines is par for the course for these parks. But next time we come back, it won't be so bad."

"How do you figure that?"

"I'll explain another day. Come on. The line's moving and the people behind us are wondering what we're doing."

"I'm sure they've all seen kissing before." He glanced back at the people behind them. "See, there are lots of people snogging in line." It was true, there were quite a few teenaged couples wrapped around each other, but "lots of people" was probably a bit of an exaggeration from what Cassie could tell. Then one girl winked quite boldly at him and Cassie turned him back toward the front, throwing a disgusted look over her shoulder at the brazen hussy. George either didn't notice or chose to ignore it because his attention was instead focusing on what was going on nearer to the ride itself. "Do we get in boats?"

"Looks like it. And that makes sense since the ride is about pirates and all." She thought he might ask her about pirates and started running through some possible explanations in her mind. However, he never did ask so she shrugged and kept her mouth closed. She was sometimes very surprised about what he knew about the Muggle world and other times very surprised about what he didn't. Her policy (well, so far in the two years she had known him) basically was that when he asked, she explained. She had given up assuming. He sometimes thought she was patronizing him if she started to explain something he already knew.

It was probably another 10 or 15 minutes before they got to the area where they could actually be loaded into the large flat boats. George looked rather doubtfully at the boats being loaded and glanced at the group, now slightly separated from the rest of the line, that would be riding in it with them. However, he didn't say anything until the boat that they were actually going to be getting in pulled up to the side and stopped. "Is this boat going to be able to stay afloat with all these people in it?"

"Of course it is. I don't think it would be a very popular ride if the boats sank and dumped the visitors into the water."

"Yeah, I agree but . . . Some of these people look a bit . . . heavy." Cassie couldn't decide whether to laugh or flush bright red in case someone had heard him. She coughed to cover her embarrassment and then tugged on his arm.

"George, come on. Everyone's waiting for us. Let's get in." It was true. Cassie could feel everyone's eyes on them. "What is the problem, exactly?"

He leaned close to her again. "They're not using magic to help hold the boats up."

"Oh for-"

The girl helping the various people get into the boat was starting to get anxious at the delay. "The water's not deep, sir. If you're frightened and all. You could stand up in the water if you needed to."

"I'm not frightened . . . " That seemed to be the final straw and he finally stepped onto the boat, which rocked slightly. He held out his hand to help Cassie in and then the both settled down on the narrow bench. He smiled wanly at the man sitting next to him and got a small smile in return. The attendant, seeing them finally seated, pushed a button perhaps harder than she should have and the boat took off with a slight jerk. George grunted as they leaned back with the movement and he grabbed Cassie's hand tightly. The boat meandered slowly through what appeared to be a swamp in a river of dark water and Cassie thought that if this was all there was to the ride, they had made a big mistake. She glanced over at George, studying his expression. He looked more relaxed now that the boat was moving and had not sunk yet. She leaned over and peered into the water. It was dark and kind of gross-looking but underneath the surface she could see the rails that kept the boats moving along. Before she could really share her observations with George, however, they had slipped down a small but steep waterfall and she felt a fine mist settle on her skin as her eyes adjusted to the dark. They passed under a talking skull and found themselves in a whole new place.

To say that they were entranced is an understatement. The ride was fun, exciting, and in general, just amazing. Cassie couldn't look around fast enough or look at things long enough to see everything she wanted to. George was the same. She knew this because as they were both swiveling their heads around quickly to look somewhere else, they would sometimes catch each other's eye. They laughingly pointed out various amusing things to each other as they passed from room to room. It went on and on, each scene in the "story" just more and more fun. Finally, they were in a dark room with two boats shooting cannonballs at each other. Cassie went to grab George's hand as one of the "cannonballs" landed close to their boat and rocked it. However, she couldn't because he was holding his wand in the hand next to her. She looked at him with a question in her eyes but then was distracted by the ride again and by the time they disembarked a few minutes later, he had tucked the wand away.

She wanted to ask him what he had been doing with his wand out but he looked so innocently sweet that she almost felt guilty for suspecting him of anything. She decided against asking him at all. They held hands as they exited back into the bright sunlight and George started raving about the ride. "That was great! I loved it! That must be the best ride in the whole park!"

"It was very nice, wasn't it? I'm glad we went!" They hugged and George led her around to the back of the line.

"Let's go again!"

"Again? But I thought-"

"Lunch can wait."

Cassie didn't know how to react. She was really hungry, but she was pleased he had had such a good time. This was the first moment since they had walked through the gates that morning that he seemed to be genuinely enthused about something. Yes, he had enjoyed the Haunted Mansion but had seemed to be observing the ride with the view of a critic trying to find something to amuse him. This ride, on the other hand, he seemed to experience with a simple pleasure that didn't ask for anything else. Cassie grinned and reconciled herself with standing in line again. They held hands for a few minutes but George was bouncing on the balls of his feet in that way he had when he was agitated about something. "I really do not think I can handle waiting in line again."

"If you want to go on the ride again, we have to wait."

"I've got an idea." He winked at her. "Join me in a minute and go along with whatever I say."

"But what are you –" She wasn't able to finish her question before he disappeared from her line of sight. Cassie considered her options. She could ignore him completely and wait. He would eventually come back and find her, she imagined. But that seemed sort of rude. And she was kind of curious what he was going to do. She just hoped it wasn't something . . . too . . . magical. She had no doubt whatsoever that he had something in mind that she probably shouldn't really approve of. However, she refused to be thrust into a role as his mother, supervising his every action and calling him on the carpet if he used magic in a slightly inappropriate way. After all, she had married him and loved him just the way he was and the way he was, was just a little bit mischievous. So, with that thought in her mind she smiled at the people behind her in line and started in the direction he had gone, trying to look nonchalant. She had walked quite a way and was almost to the front of the line and was just about to turn back, certain she had missed him somewhere, when she saw George standing in line and he waved to her. 

"Over here, darling. I'm glad you found me. I was starting to worry you had gotten lost." Cassie just shook her head, unsure what was expected of her.

"No, you were just further ahead than I really expected." She looked rather suspiciously at him and he grinned at her.

"You were a long time in the loo, weren't you?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that."

"I was telling this fine gentleman here that every time we get in a long line, you find a convenient excuse to leave me standing by myself while you get to wander around. But I don't mind." George waved his hand vaguely at the man behind them in line who smiled at the two of them and then turned back to his son, who was trying to tell him something.

"Sorry I've been such a bad line partner." She raised a questioning eyebrow but he had that exceedingly innocent look on his face again and she didn't press the issue.

"That's okay. I don't mind." He bent very close to her ear and spoke softly. "A simple memory charm and they're sure I've been here the entire time."

"You're a sneaky little devil, aren't you?" She had to chuckle at his deviousness.

"Yes. But I'm a sneaky little devil who is almost at the beginning of the line." He looked worriedly at her. "Are you angry with me?" She shook her head and laced her fingers through his.

"I love you, George."

"I love you, too, Cassie." A few minutes later they were up to the front of the line again and by bad luck happened to be ushered onto the boat by the same girl who had helped them earlier. She did a double take when she saw them and checked her wristwatch discreetly. George just smiled in a very friendly way and she didn't ask any questions. At least this time George got onto the boat quickly and without a fuss. Cassie tried to look at everything she had missed the first time and was having a really enjoyable ride. They were almost to the end of the ride when she figured out why he had wanted to come through once again.

"Look up at that scene, Cassie. Remind you of anyone?" She glanced up there and did a double take, then looked away and back again. She couldn't help it; she started laughing and had to actually bite the palm of her hand to keep from getting hysterical. The scene was funny enough as it was, anyway. The general idea was that the pirates were auctioning off the town's lovely ladies as brides to each other, undoubtedly (although this was certainly not described) for a night of debauchery with the poor dears. All of the women looked tearful and shocked, except for one rather portly one. She, apparently thrilled at the chance to get married, had started chasing a very skinny pirate around trying to convince him that she was the perfect woman for him. Cassie had noticed it before and had chuckled. But this time, the woman had her face and the poor skinny future husband looked remarkably like George.

"When did you . . . what did you . . . can everyone . . . Oh, that's very funny."

"I didn't do anything. I don't know what you are talking about." He grinned widely as he said this and Cassie shook her head, knowing that there was no point arguing about it. She continued to watch the scene for a while longer, hoping no one else noticed the rather remarkable resemblance between the eager bride and the passenger on their boat. That would be rather hard to explain to say the least. As they left that particular room behind them, George pulled his wand out of his pocket and as they passed through the dark into the next scene, he pointed it behind him and murmured "Finite incantatum."

"Any more little surprises for me in this scene?"

"Maybe one or two." She grinned and looked with careful attention at the faces of the remaining pirates as they passed. She saw Professor Snape's face (and long, greasy hair) on one of the poor townspeople who was being dunked in a barrel repeatedly and thought that one of the pirates looked remarkably like Harry. She didn't see anyone else familiar, though, and then the ride was over. "What did you think of my artistry?" He asked as he helped her out of the boat.

"I think you have a lot of talent. Maybe you should consider doing pranks as a career. That is assuming your chosen field of being an accountant doesn't work out."

He laughed but then stopped and asked her, "What's an accountant?" That made her laugh really hard and she actually had to stop and try to catch her breath.

As they exited the ride, she looked around and consulted her map, trying to get oriented so that they could find the restaurant where they had eaten dinner the night before. George was also looking around, but not with the same purpose. "Oh, look, Cass! It's a jungle cruise. And there's almost no line. Let's go on that!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know! But it looks fun. And we get to ride another boat."

"And this is a plus? I practically had to force you to get on the one in the Pirates ride." 

George had the grace to look a little sheepish. "Sorry about that. It was a small boat. Come on, let's go at least look." 

"I'm starving. You need to feed me at some point." She glanced at her watch. "It's after 1. Please can't we -"

"There's a snack stand. We'll get something there." They wound up eating something called a chili dog standing up next to a rubbish bin. The chili dog was okay, although she was pretty sure she wouldn't be cooking it any time in the near future back home, but the entire ambiance was a far cry from the relaxing sit-down lunch she had imagined. However, she didn't complain. George was having a good time and that was really the important thing, in her opinion. He was still hungry, so he got another hot dog and a drink for the two of them to share while she read in her brochure about the ride. It sounded sort of silly, but George had been right about there being no line so why not. It wouldn't take very long to ride it, and maybe it would be more enjoyable than you could really tell from the brochure.

"Just promise me one thing, George." She said a few minutes later as they prepared to board the large boat. He stepped down over the seat and onto the floor, then reached out his hand to hers to help her in. 

"Anything, love. What?"

"I won't look over and find any hippopotami wearing my face. I'm quite sure that at that point, I would have to be insulted." He laughed and she joined in.

About a half hour later, he helped her out of the boat and she couldn't decide whether to slug him or hug him. He was adorable, in a sort of troubling way. Their "jungle guide" got out of the boat right after her and walked with decidedly shaky knees over to another person dressed in a similar costume. Cassie pretended her trainer had come untied and bent over to tie it so that she could overhear their conversation.

"I think you've been out in the sun a bit too long. Either that or you've been drinking."

"I have not been drinking! But maybe I have been out in the sun too long. I don't know. All I can say is that scared me. On a deep primal level or something." Their river guide sat down and put his head down between his knees. George was studying a map of the park, and Cassie scowled slightly. He was probably trying to decide where else he could go to cause havoc. Okay, well, maybe havoc was a bit strong of a word. She knew that the people on their boat had had the best ride of their lives. Okay, everyone had screamed a few times. They were supposed to. But . . . well not like that!

"Well, I suggest you take a rest. When you start to see the animals actually moving . . ."

"The elephant charged the boat, Bob. I mean seriously. Not just the mechanical thing it always does."

"Uh, huh. Sure it did." A definite skeptic here. Cassie could tell him a few things.

"I'm serious. It was close enough that I could reach out and touch it."

"So it was alive?"

"No! It was still metal . . . I don't know how to explain it. All I know is that I gave my little usual spiel about watching out for the elephants and suddenly . . . he charged the boat. Same thing happened with the hippos. They surrounded our boat and tried to swamp it. I really thought we were going over. Everyone was screaming . . . and someone threw up over the edge." Their guide stood up again and the two of them moved off. Cassie stood up and approached her husband.

"George-"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I know. You don't have to tell me." 

"I thought the pirate thing was funny. But someone could have gotten hurt with this. And it wasn't exactly inconspicuous. Rampaging metal animals."

"I had everything under control. And you have to admit that it really livened up the ride." 

"It's not going to always do that, is it? From here on out?"

"No. They were just temporary moving spells. I could, though-"

"No! I think that was enough. Really. Let's go back to the hotel."

"Aaah, Cassie. I'm sorry. I won't do that again. We'll do something fun and I promise I won't do anything." He looked at her with such pleading in his eyes that Cassie couldn't help but respond.

"I'll give you one more chance. I'm not your mother and I don't want to act like her –"

"No! Please! Don't even mention her."

"I love your mother."

"Well, so do I, of course. But that doesn't mean I want to be on my honeymoon with her."

"I see your point. Anyway, like I was saying. I don't want to be supervising you, but you need to take a bit of responsibility about not doing magic in front of Muggles and -"

"Cassie! We're at Disney World! Everyone expects there to be magic!"

"They expect that there will be mechanical magic. Not real magic. Behave yourself. I personally don't want to get an owl, or the American equivalent thereof, with a warning."

"Fine. I'll be better." She couldn't help it. She melted. He was so dang cute. She hugged him and let the familiar warm smell of him surround her, making her feel safe and loved.

"You're perfect just the way you are, you know."

"I've often suspected that to be the case, despite dire warnings to the contrary from various people." She laughed and they walked hand in hand toward whatever adventure awaited them next.


	5. Fighting and Making Up

A/N: Finally! More at the end.

The phone in the hotel room rang and Cassie reached over and picked it up. "Hi, Cassie. It's me. What's wrong?" Cassie had tried to sound brave on the phone a few minutes before but now that she heard the worry in her mother's voice, she couldn't hold it in anymore and she broke into huge, wrenching sobs. Her mum let her cry for a few minutes until Cassie could finally talk.

"George and I had a big fight."

"Oh, I see." Cassie heard the suppressed laughter in her mum's voice even over the transatlantic phone lines.

"It's not funny. He left me. And I don't think he wants to be married to me anymore."

"Cassie, that just isn't true, I'm sure. George loves you very much. One fight isn't going to change that. Tell me what happened."

"He won't stop doing magic."

"Hmm. Okay, and this is bad because . . . ?"

"It's against American wizarding law to do magic in front of Muggles just as much as it is in Britain. Well, more really, now. And he won't stop. Ever."

"All right."

"And I've asked him, and told him, and begged him to stop. And he won't. He says that he IS magic, that he doesn't just pull it out for cheap parlor tricks once in a while, but that it's natural for him to do magic, and if I can't understand that . . . . well, then I must not love him."

"Hmmm. Well, maybe he knows it isn't really that serious."

"No, he knows it is. He got a Howler today at lunch. A seagull dropped it on his plate and it exploded and everybody in the whole restaurant heard this huge noise and they were looking at him and he had mashed potato in his hair and everything. It was humiliating."

"For him? Or for you?"

"Well, both really. He had to run out with this smoking yellow envelope in his hand and left me to settle the bill, which I-"

"-Didn't have enough money for?"

"No, I did. But I had to pay extra for the broken china and I didn't even get to eat my food!"

"That would be embarrassing. What did he say about the, uh, Howler?"

"He was laughing when I got up to the hotel room."

"Laughing?"

"Yes, at me. Because I had mashed potatoes in my hair, too. Which I hadn't noticed."

"I see."

"Yes, and he laughed at the fact they sent him a Howler. He said it doesn't mean anything. But it does. They could arrest him."

"Who could?"

"Well, the magic government over here, I guess. I don't know what they're called. And if they arrested him, I don't know what I would do! I wouldn't even know how to try to get him out or pay his bail or whatever. I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to even --" Her voice got higher and higher as she tried harder to explain to her mother what a horrible situation she would be in without George. Her mother didn't sound terribly concerned, as Cassie thought she should be.

"And you told him this?"

"Yes. But that's when he got mad. And then we started fighting about . . . all sorts of things. And I think now we hate each other. We never should have gotten married in the first place."

"Now-"

"I mean it. I don't know what we were thinking. It's obvious we aren't anything alike and it was silly to think that our marriage could ever work."

"Cassie-"

"I mean, he's fun and all, but is that really enough to base a marriage on? Can I put up with his joking and laughing 24 hours a day for the rest of my life?"

"Cass-"

"I mean it, Mum. I need someone more like . . . Dad."

"Cassiopeia!"

Cassie stopped talking.

"Listen to me for a moment. First of all, everybody fights. On their honeymoon."

"No-"

"It's my turn to talk now. I'm paying for this phone call, so you get to listen to me at least part of the time. Yes, they do. Your father and I fought. On the second day after we were married. And he walked out on me. And I called my mother and told her the exact same thing, that we had made a terrible mistake and that it was obvious we never should have gotten married. And she laughed at me, too."

"Grandma laughed at you?"

"Yes, she did. Now, we were actually surprised you made it this long without calling. We took bets around here, and no one guessed it would take almost two weeks. So, congratulations all around. In fact, think I won."

"Mother!"

"That doesn't matter, though. The point is that . . . everybody fights. It's natural. You're two very different people having to learn how to live together. If you didn't fight I'd be worried, because it would mean that one of you, presumably you, wasn't expressing any of your own opinions."

"But-"

"Still my turn. And you will fight many, many more times over the next few years. Over some stupid things and lots of important things. And that's okay, too."

"You and Dad never fight."

There was laughter at this, although to Rebecca's credit, she didn't laugh too long. "Yes, we do. All the time. Oh, most of the time they're pretty minor and one of us just gets our feelings hurt and an hour later we've forgotten what we ever were upset about to begin with. But we do have some major ones still, occasionally. Fortunately, not very often now. But we've been married for a lot of years. We settled most of the huge disagreements a long time ago."

"Oh."

"I think you have some valid concerns. Being that you are a Muggle, his being arrested by the wizarding government would really put you in a bad position. Let's play a little game I like to call what if."

"What if? What sort of a game is that?"

"It's not so much a game as an . . . exercise."

"Okay, an exercise?"

"Yes. What's the worst thing that could happen over there if George keeps doing magic?"

"Um, he could die."

"Die? Really?"

"Yeah. If one of his "little tricks" went awry."

"Okay, so let's say George, uh, dies. What would you do?"

"I don't know! I wouldn't have the faintest idea!"

"Really, think. What would you do?"

"Call you, I guess. Collect."

"Naturally. And what would I do?"

"Um, I . . . Call his family?"

"That's right. You know both Ron and Harry have phones for emergencies and I have their numbers. And they would contact everybody else, and they would come over there immediately. And I would also get on a plane and get there as soon as I could. And we would take care of everything."

"Oh. That would work."

"Now, see, you really aren't helpless! If he got arrested, though, then what could you do?"

"I guess I could call Harry or Ron myself. I have their phone numbers, too."

"That's a good plan. Then they could probably contact Arthur. However, my personal guess is that they wouldn't really dare hold the son of the British Minister of Magic very long in America. I think they would contact Arthur themselves -- however they do that -- and tell him about their arresting George."

"I didn't think about that."

"I understand. You're upset. So, everything seems horrible. But I really don't think it's that bad. Any other possibilities?"

"He . . . really left me and went back to England." She broke into sobs again at this point and again Rebecca waited for her to calm down before continuing.

"I think that's unlikely. But, let's just consider it. Where are the airline tickets?"

"I have them."

"And your passports?"

"Here with me."

"Money?"

"Yeah. I have most of it."

"Well, then, even if he did take off for parts unknown, you have everything you need to come back home to me. And we can either find him so I can kill him with my own two bare hands, or we can turn him over to Harry; or better yet, his sister, Ginny. Or, if he came back here without you . . . then at least he'd be easy to find."

They both laughed together and Cassie wiped her eyes just as the hotel door opened and a rather worried, pale-faced George walked in the door. "He's back."

"Okay. I'll get off. I'll call you tomorrow night, okay? Just to make sure everything is good."

"Thanks, Mum. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye, sweetheart."

Cassie hung up the phone and stood up from the corner of the bed where she had been sitting. They both eyed each other carefully.

"George-"

"Cassie-" They both started speaking at the same time.

"You go first-" They both said at the exact same moment and George smiled faintly.

"I'll start, then. Cassie, I'm sorry. I never meant to . . . say those things. I do love you so much. More than I knew it was possible to love anyone."

"I love you, too, George."

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you took the tickets and went home without me."

"I wouldn't ever do that to you."

"I'd have deserved it. I . . . I didn't think about your point of view, really."

"I know." Cassie smiled a bit and wiped her eyes on the balled-up Kleenex she had in her hand. George wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the top of her head.

"I was so scared I would come back to an empty room. I don't deserve you."

"Don't say that! It's not true. You're wonderful!"

"Right. Really wonderful. I walked out on you."

"That's what the husband is supposed to do, I think. In the couple's first fight."

"Really?"

"My mum specifically said that that is what my dad did in their first fight. So, it must be the standard thing."

"Oh. And what is the wife supposed to do?"

"Call her mum."

"So you did that, too?"

"Yeah. I did. And she did her job by laughing at me."

"She laughed?"

"Just a little bit. But she did."

George drew back a bit from her and looked down at her. Cassie didn't look up to meet his eyes, so he gently lifted her chin. "You were right, of course."

"I was?"

"Yes. I was being selfish."

"And I wasn't being very smart. They wouldn't just arrest you and throw you in a jail cell and throw away the key. They'd contact your dad."

"Yeah. They would. Although, considering how my dad would react, I think I'd prefer the key-throwing-away thing. But, really, I wasn't thinking about you. And I'm sorry about lunch."

"It doesn't matter."

"I embarrassed you."

"I know, but it's not like I know any of those people, anyway. Just think of the stories they'll tell their friends! We'll be entertaining strangers for decades to come."

"Yeah, but I bet it was expensive. And we never got to actually eat anything."

"It was. But I don't care about that. You're the most important thing to me." They hugged each other tightly for a few minutes.

"Is your mum going to call back soon?"

"No, it's strange, really. She said she'd call tomorrow night. Why would she wait so long? Maybe I'll call back now."

"No. Don't do that."

"Why not?"

"Fred told me a while ago that the best part about fighting with your wife is, um, making up afterward. I bet your mum figured that out." His eyes had a gleam in them that Cassie recognized. She pushed him away.

"George Weasley! You cannot come waltzing in here and think I am going to hop right into bed with you after that huge fight!"

"I can't?" He looked crestfallen.

"No. I'm still . . . Did you just say that my mum thought we'd be . . . having, uh-"

"Of course she did. It's called make-up-"

"I know what it's called." She flushed lightly. "Really?"

George nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely. I'm sure your mum and dad have "made up" plenty of times."

Cassie blushed and laughed. "Yeah, I guess they probably have. I just don't know if I want to think about it."

George also laughed. "And with the way my mum and dad fight, I know they've made up plenty of times. That's probably why there are so many of us Weasleys. So, what do you say?"

"I'm not sure I'm in the mood."

"I could convince you. We could start and then, if you, changed your mind in a bit, we could stop."

"Oh, that always works with you!" The sarcasm in her tone was obvious even to George in his extremely aroused state. He chuckled warmly and she laid her head against his chest.

"It would, but you never want to stop." George moved aside her hair and kissed her gently on the neck and Cassie closed her eyes against the sudden tingling radiating from that spot all over her body.

"George. I . . . I'm not sure."

"Please. Oh, Cassie, let me make it up to you. Let me show you how much I love you." Her arms crept around his neck and she pressed herself closer to him, feeling his arousal against her tummy and his hard warmth everywhere else. His hands slid down from her waist and cupped her bum, lifting her up against him so that he was supporting her weight. "Um, you feel so good. I love you, Cassie Weasley."

And Cassie knew she was lost. He laid her back gently on the bed, kissing her softly over and over, unbuttoning her blouse and pushing aside his own clothes. Cassie sighed into his open mouth as his tongue swept in to tangle with hers and she knew she had no strength to tell him no and no wish to in any case.

A while later, she cuddled close to him under the light blanket he had pulled over them. "That was pretty nice."

"Yeah. Definitely. Why did we wait so long to fight?"

"George!"

"I mean it! We'll have to do that more often!"

"I hated fighting with you."

"Well, that's true. That part wasn't very fun. I was sure you had left me."

"I wouldn't do that. Not until I was sure you weren't ever coming back."

"Oh, Merlin, Cassie. I can't . . . I would just . . . well, I would never be able to walk away and leave you."

"Are you sure? I know I made you pretty mad." She kissed a freckle on his left shoulder that she had just noticed and he shivered, then cranked open an eye to look at her.

"Well, I deserved it. I need to think of us now, not just what I want, but what is best for both of us."

"But I still don't want to be your mother."

"Thank Merlin for that. One mother is enough for me. But that means that I need to grow up quite a lot."

"Maybe just a little. I like you the way you are, most of the time."

George sighed and pulled her closer, his eyes closing again as their legs tangled in the blanket. "I really don't deserve you, Cassie Robinson Weasley. Now sleep. And later, we'll find a new place to eat with no mashed potatoes."

Cassie grinned and let her eyes drift shut. Her last coherent thought was that baked potatoes would fly even better if another Howler dropped onto his plate.

A/N: I really wish I had a good excuse as to why it has taken me almost two years to update this blasted story, and I really don't except to say that apparently my muse completely deserted me. I knew what I generally wanted to happen, but just could not seem to get them there is a realistic, natural-feeling manner. I thought about it all the time, but I just could never get it to work. I've actually got about three half-chapters on the computer that were abandoned. Then, suddenly, the other night, the opening paragraph came to me and I had the whole thing written within two hours. Hopefully, it won't take nearly so long for the next chapter or two, now that I seem to have gotten back into George's and Cassie's voices.


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